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I Never Want to Leave Biscayne Bay!

Friday, May 27th, 2016

I Never Want to Leave Biscayne Bay!

Sunset From Biscayne Bight Anchorage
These famous last words were shortly followed by “we had a pretty successful shakedown cruise, nothing happened!” "Start the engines, we’re heading north!" Silence. "I said, start the engines!" Click. It seems like the Yamaha dinghy engine spent all night telling Stan the starboard Yanmar the joys of going on strike. “I went on strike the other day, and it was so much fun! Watching these humans suffer for a change is great. Maybe when they realize how valuable we are, they’ll treat us engines better.” Well, the pep talk worked and Stan the Starboard peaced out. Matt fiddled with it all day and because the starter does not electrocute you when you rake a screwdriver over it, we think the starter is dead. Matt was happy not to get electrocuted but very sad about Stan the Starboard’s Starter (Seriously, this is Nigel Calder’s solution.) We were planning on being at our old dock (which we paid for through May 31) this weekend, soaking up wifi and A/C and mail and Chinese delivery.

We debated heading north with one engine. It is a sailboat, after all. We just like having two engines for navigating tricky inlets and getting into docks. And then there’s the disturbing thought that Portside Pete might not think it’s fair to do all the work with Starboard Stan naps, and might join the protest strike. He’d wait until we were under the bridge, battling hoardes of drunk holiday boaters, being tossed by wakes and pushed by currents.

We called the Yanmar dealer in Miami, and he had an off-brand starter, and was open for another hour. My brother could swim to shore and run to the dealer in this time; however, he is not available and we are weak and didn’t even contemplate it.

Working on engine parts on the dining table

Sunday, May 29th

Dinner Key Mooring Field
Our peaceful anchorage off Biscayne Bight was a washing machine yesterday. I actually felt quite put out by it. The anchorage and sandbar fills up with about 10% of Miami (literally hundreds of boats, possibly up to a thousand!) on the weekend - and this was a gorgeous holiday Saturday - and the nonstop wakes make it very uncomfortable to get work done. Matt worked on the dinghy engine all day. We had soaked the carburetor overnight and felt sure that would fix it’s peevish little tantrum. It didn’t.

We made it to Dinner Key Mooring field this morning and put on quite a show picking up the mooring. Too bad none of our neighbors were home; they missed some high quality free entertainment. The Dinner Key Mooring Field shuttle took Matt to shore, he walked to West Marine, and bought a fuel line for our dinghy motor. It didn’t work, so it’s row row row your boat. Just think how fit we’ll be!

Dinner Key Marina and Mooring Field. Independence is way out there, as tiny as it could be!

Hastings' Update

You can’t afford to close your eyes and take a well deserved nap, even for a second! I was napping this afternoon (I deserved it, I had to supervise entrance to a narrow channel and then picking up a mooring ball that seemed very unprofessionally handled. I was very embarrassed, but I don’t think anyone saw). I awoke to find Dearest Darling Daddy missing. Gone! There had been no splash, no scream. No permission to leave was sought. Just gone. I’ve searched the vessel many times, and there’s no explanation. The long haired one doesn’t seem worried, but what does that mean? Not much. There is some good news. I am on the boat with the food stores, and LHI and I had some salmon, so apparently survival is possible. Secondly, I believe DDD is on a cheese farm recon mission. I bet he’ll come back soon with a sample for me, because he’s the best!

Next Time on the Blog

Will we still be in Biscayne Bay? Probably! 

This is the story of Matt, Lucy and Hastings, the crew of the sailing vessel Dulcinea, a 1985 Cabo Rico 38.

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4 comments

  1. georgiafieldroseMay 31, 2016 at 7:22 AM

    You wanted an adventure! You just forgot to check the "trouble free" box on the order form! Good luck. I suggest you start measuring your biceps ready for your career as a muscle woman ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Boat Life Larks - S/V DulcineaMay 31, 2016 at 8:11 AM

      Trouble free sounds boring. How could I reward myself with cheesecake if I didn't have troubles that needed to be soothed away and calories to replace?!

      Delete
  2. The Cynical SailorJune 1, 2016 at 1:13 PM

    It's always something isn't it :-(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Boat Life Larks - S/V DulcineaJune 1, 2016 at 4:14 PM

      At least it keeps us occupied. I was worried if be bored without a job- turns out boating is a full time job!

      Delete

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